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The Messenger,May 2017
Leadership: Committed to transformation
Developing diverse lay and ordained leaders from the communities we serve
Message from the Revd Canon Dr Andrew Braddock Director of Mission and Ministry in the Diocese of Gloucester
‘They are unreliable witnesses.' That is how some of Jesus’ disciples dismissed the news brought by Mary, Joanna and other women that Jesus' tomb was empty and that he was risen. Indeed Luke's Gospel tells us that the women’s message seemed to the other disciples to be no more than ‘an idle tale, and they did not believe them.'
Yet it was to these women that God gave the Easter message that Jesus is risen. It was these ‘unreliable witnesses’, so easily dismissed by the other disciples, that were the first to announce that God was doing a new and transforming thing.
These women remind us of two things. First, that God will often enable new beginnings to be led from surprising places. As a church we need to create space and opportunities for fresh leadership and insights to challenge our perceptions and help us see anew what God may be bringing to birth. Secondly, leadership is not just about roles and authority. It is also about influence – leading by example. That’s what the women who followed Jesus did as they simply went out to share what they had seen and heard. In so doing they became the first witnesses to the resurrection, becoming messengers and participants in God’s transformation of death and loss into the gift of life now and eternally. That’s the kind of leadership and witness we are all called to share in, not simply in the church, but in the world.
God calls each one of us
The Revd Pauline Godfrey, Discipleship and Vocations Officer in the Diocese of Gloucester talks about recognising God’s call
‘Who me? No, I’m the last person God would call.’ Having been brought up in a church
tradition that was uncomfortable with women as leaders I, like so many women before me, heard the call of God and tried to get others to follow it. The fact that God didn’t differentiate took some learning. God calls each one of us.
First of all he calls us into a relationship but then he calls us to work with him to build the kingdom wherever we are – in our daily lives, in everything we do. Some of us don’t think that what we do or who we are is special enough for God’s call. But God calls the weak and the strong, men and women, the young and the old.
In that calling God also calls some of us to work for him in ministries specific to the church – to be deacons, priests or readers. Women today still often feel that God might not be able to use them in these roles.
Perhaps you know of a woman whom God is clearly calling to ministry, or perhaps God is calling you? Don’t be afraid to encourage them to explore or ask that question – ‘Who me?’
Young Women: God’s Calling will take place on 18 November 2017. Contact Pauline on or 01452 835548.
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Events and training
Friday 5 May, 6.30pm to 8pm
Desert Island Discs
St Mary The Virgin, Berkeley GL13 9BN
Join BBC Radio Gloucestershire presenter Mark Cummings for his selection of music and chat followed by a selection of puddings. Tickets £5 including dessert and tea or coffee.Proceeds to be shared between St Mary’s and the Stroud Food Bank. Call Ann or Chris Smith on 01453 511055 or
Saturday 20 May, 6.30 for 7.30pm
Out of the Ashes and the Beacon Gospel Choir
St Philip and St James, Hucclecote, GL3 3NS
Tickets £5 including light refreshments. 01452 372177
Funds shared between St Philip and St James and Compassion.
Monday 22 May, 7.30pm
The Names and Naming of
God—have we got it all wrong?
Room TC001, Francis Close Hall Campus, University of Gloucestershire, Swindon Road, Cheltenham GL50 4AZ
Professor Janet Soskice, Chair of the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. Can God be named? What is involved in the ‘practice’ of naming God? Can modern Christians recover a tradition of piety around the names and the naming of God that is suited to our times and consistent with the Biblical
account? Free— email to reserve your place – or book
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